Beginning in 1993, researchers from the Andrews Experimental Forest Long-Term Ecological Research (LTER) have been monitoring populations of Pacific Giant Salamanders, Dicamptodon tenebrosus, specifically in Mack Creek (Gregory 2016). The Experimental Forest is part of the Willamette National Forest in western Oregon and managed by the U.S. Forest Service and Oregon State University (Figure 2.). Researchers are interested in how disturbances in forests effect biota. The data was collected from two sections of of Mack Creek - a forest clear cut in 1963 and a 500 year old growth coniferous forest. Here, we will use the data collected by the Andrews Experimental Forest Team to compare the differences in size and weight distributions of salamanders from clear cut and old growth sections.
Figure 1. A Pacific Giant Salamander (Dicamptodon tenebrosus) laying on a down log. Photo credit: Gary Nafis, www.californiaherps.com.